Raw Story: Rick Santorum's Communications Director ... is Gay....

[Raster]

Rick Santorum's Communications Director confirms to PageOneQ he is gay, stands behind Senator

by Michael Rogers

In a phone call recorded by PageOneQ and blogACTIVE.com, Robert Traynham, Director of Communications for United States Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA) has said he is an out gay man who completely supports the Senator.

When asked how a gay man could speak for one of the nation's most notorious homophobes, Traynham, left, protested that has "been with the Senator for eight years." Traynham went on to say "Senator Santorum is a man of principle, he is a man who sticks up for what he believes in, I strongly do support Senator Santorum."

When pressed on whether he supported the Senator's stands on lesbian and gay issues, Mr. Traynham abruptly ended the phone call by saying "Senator Santorum is a family man. I have been with Senator Santorum for eight years and I am very proud to be with him."

An attempt to follow-up with a question was met with Mr. Traynham hanging up the phone.

<snip, disgracefully more>

http://ocbq.com/news/2005/Rick_Santorums_Communications_Director_confirms_to_PageOneQ_he_is_gay_stands_behind_Sen_0714.html
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I do not get it. The g.o.p. is literally crawling with gay men doing the homophobes bidding. Just how self-hating and self-depreciating do you have to be to work for someone or something that continually questions or derides your very being. Oh so sad. Here's a gay man saying he supports fecal froth man because he's "for the family." And your not, mr. collaborator? They called people like you "capos" in the death camps. You know, jews who worked with the nazis to kill other jews.

[Norquist Nemesis]

1. He's been with the Senator for 8 years!

*smooch*

[Atman]

2. I'll bet he's "been with him" for years!

And his little dog, too!

[DinahMoeHum]

3. Well, Santorum does strike me as being one wing short of a fairy

with that smarmy look and attitude of his.


:evilgrin:

[sui generis]

11. sounds like he got the whole enchilada there, so to speak

both wings and the burrito.

[Tamarin]

4. LOL, I was about to ask if anyone there is, um, friendly with animals.

[nashville_brook]

5. i have known many gay fundamentalist men

who actually work in the propaganda wing of the MOST nutty fundies. i feel the same way about the cognitive dissonance.

is it my imagination or are lesbians more consistent in their political life?

[sui generis]

10. nope

they just get less press -

Remember this is a paternalistic, sexist society. Gay men are generally (and wrongly) associated with "weakness" and inconsistency and femininity (notice all those things together) and seeing a few black sheep do something this inconsistent validates those views for the general public, so it makes the news.

Women are a bit more inscrutable - and the news treats them that way, also from those same "paternalistic" patterns of behavior.

It's also outrageous within the gay community to have one of our own working for the enemy - that nutjob does not have a rich social life within the gay community, and you will find that he probably "looks down" on the rest of us weak liberals.

that's my nickel analysis.

[nashville_brook]

13. that rings true -- the weakness/strength dicotomy is hardwired

right along with the male/female, light/dark, on/off, 1/0 dicotomies. we are dualistic critters. i think that's why people have a hard time with gayness b/c it overturns the dualism by being both or neither.

reading wilhelm reich last nite -- on his theory of electrical charge and sexuality -- i thought it would be nice if someone would (PLEASE) put the mythology to rest by doing some real science on the issue. prove that polysexuality is abundant in nature (okay, that's been done) and further prove that sexual preference in humans is the effect of electrical charge or *something* that takes it out of the hands of freewill or morality.

maybe one day we will become fully human in this respect.

[barbaraann]

6. $$$$$

$$$$$

[mistertrickster]

7. And when you confront the right-wing true believers on this, they say

"what are you, homophobic?"

I wrote an article about this which no one would print probably because they were worried about the perceived "anti-gay" slant, which was absolutely not my intention.

'Which leads to the strange situation that many in the neo-con wing of the Conservative movement find themselves—they’re gay too. The right-wing is shot through with practicing homosexuals. By day, they go about their professional lives aiding and abetting the persecution of gays for political advantage, sharing a stage with the likes of Jerry Falwell who once preached that “even animals don’t do that” and Pat Robertson who blamed the 9-11 terror attack as divine retribution for the evil of America’s homosexuals. By night, they frequent the same gay bars many others do. By day, they rail against the “deviancy” of a sin-corrupted lifestyle, responsible for the AIDS plague and destroying the family. By night they post messages to gay websites seeking sex contacts, like this one from Dan Gurley, Field Director of the Republican National Committee: “8+ cut; switch/versatile – I’ll be whatever you want me to be; just looking for good sex with one or several; I’m into anal sex, body contact, groups, kissing, one-on-one, oral sex, porn.”'

[RoBear]

9. Why can't they understand?

It's the fuckin' HYPOCRISY! More Jewish storm-troopers.

[mistertrickster]

12. Here's a short list of right-wing gays who help conservatives discriminate

against gays--

Ken Mehlman, Chair of the Republican National Committee (just think of how the Republicans would act if Howard Dean were a closet gay)

“Mehlman managed the Bush-Cheney 2004 campaign and, according to the campaign’s Ohio co-chair, Secretary of State Ken Blackwell, directed Ohio anti-gay activists to mount the campaign to put the Issue 1 marriage ban amendment on the ballot."

Dan Gurley, RNC Field Director, (his lurid post above)

Jim West, Mayor of Spokane, put forward legislation to discrimate against gays, now in legal trouble for statutory rape and child molestation of underage boys. Although he denies being gay, when questioned about the charges he accuses critics of "homophobia."

”The sad irony is West now seeks the kind of respect for his privacy and sexuality that he was unwilling to grant, legislatively, to others.”

Armstrong Williams, Jeff Gannon, Matt Drudge, Pete Williams--right wing media whores and self-loathing gays. Pete Williams worked for Cheney when Cheney was Defense Secretary and Williams's job was to purge the military of "queers."

Jay Timmons, exec director of Nat'l Republican Senatorial Committee

Arizona Congressman Jim Kolbe, supporter of anti-gay legislation until he was forced to out himself by gay magazines' reportage

“Two weeks after voting for the bill restricting gay marriage, Kolbe, a Republican, went public with his homosexuality, which had been an open secret around Washington, to pre-empt an article that he knew was coming in the national gay magazine Advocate.”

Ed Schrock, former Congressman from Virginia, ran on the morality plank of the Repub platform. Attacked "don't ask, don't tell" military policy because it allowed gays in the military. Caught with pants down running internet come-ons for gay sex.

Arthur Finklestein, campaign fund-raiser to the Republican stars, homophobes like Jesse Helms, recently MARRIED his gay partner in Mass and has adopted children.

[dsc]

14. In fairness to Pete Williams

he was Cheney's spokesman and Cheney was against the policy. I think it is a little unfair to tar him as the same as the likes of Finklestein who sought out people like Helms to work for.

[KoKo]

16. Do these gay Repugs only associate with other Gay Republicans...is there

some sort of network? It's hard for me as a hetero to understand how one could go to gay bars and post on gay internet sites and not end up with a Democratic partner or two. How do they rationalize that? Also what about the "blackmail issue?" Would it be that the Repug Gay Network is so closed and insular that they create their own Mafia type operation with a code of silence so strong that blackmail and death are the only way out?

Yet, they advertise on open non-political Gay Sites and fraternize in Gay Hangouts. How do they keep themselves so closeted?

I only ask because I don't follow the lifestyle enough to understand how this could happen that so many can remain "closeted" and are not outed for their politics when they achieve power. It must be a dangerous way of living not to be able to be who you are when you move in such high circles of power. :shrug:

[sui generis]

8. my goodness. And Hitler was a man of principle too by that

definition. He certainly stuck up for what he believed in.

Just goes to show that the Fairy of Stupid visits some of us gay blades at birth just as often as it visits everyone else.

I have several deluded "acquaintances" who believe that they are going to change the republican party from within; and it's just not going to happen.

Also, it's power madness. They've chosen careers that support politics and they've been republican all along, so they look at themselves as having the "long" view.

The fact of the matter is if republicans were out of power and in extreme disfavor, those deluded queens would be sucking up to the dems in power.

They are flawed in their perceptions of the world and they don't speak for me or even any significant portion of the gay community.

[Skittles]

15. my gaydar tells me Santorum is too

yes INDEED

[HamdenRice]

17. Cannonfire blog has perceptive analysis: Roehmosexuals

That is he compares them to the anti-homosexual policies of the Nazis who yet had many homosexuals in their leadership.

Ernst Roehm was leader of the SA, and was a homosexual and persecuted homosexuals.

It's not as illogical as it seems. They want to keep gay sex illicit, a private pleasure for themselves only, but a source of persecution of others. This also makes gay sex a source of mutual blackmail and control.

[MadisonProgressive]

18. So is the self-hater going to fire the man? Or marry him?